Hydrangea
by StarlightKat
Summary: Karamatsu learns to care for a life. (Can be seen as OsoKara or just brotherly love.)


Karamatsu entered the kitchen yawning. He had to wash the dishes even though it wasn't his turn. It was supposed to be Ichimatsu's turn but he asked- or more like threatened- that he washed the dishes for him. He didn't mind it though, rarely anyone went in there except for their mother so it was nice for a change of scenery, even if it was just the kitchen.

Upon entering, he found his mother kneeling down on the tiled floor rummaging through the lower cabinets. For someone old as her, Karamatsu thought she shouldn't be hunched over like that as he feared for her back. "Mom? Do you need help getting whatever you need?" he spoke.

Matsuyo barely even glanced at him but smiled, "Thank you for the offer dearie, but I can handle this. Ah- there it is." She pulled back and stood up, "Karamatsu, come here and look at this."

Obeying, Karamatsu walked up to her and eyed the item in her palms. "What is that?" he asked.

In her hands laid a small brown pouch tied at the top with string. Because they were in the kitchen, Karamatsu assumed that in there was either food or some kitchen accessory. "Hold out your hands," Matsuyo said. When he did, she untied the string and emptied the contents into his hands.

Karamatsu tilted his head in confusion as he watched small black spots pour into his hands. "Are these…seeds?" he questioned.

"Flower seeds actually," his mother corrected, "I bought them at a flea market a while ago and I stored them in the cabinet for later use but I completely forgot about them until now."

Karamatsu eyed them in curiosity, "Flower seeds? Are you going to plant them now? The house will look much more beautiful once these abundance of life grow."

"Ah, about that…" Matsuyo trailed off, "At that time I had a sudden infatuation with plants but now that it's been a few weeks my interest in them faded away." It was subtle, but she noticed the way her son's eyes sparkled in amazement as he stared at the seeds. Smiling, she added, "Would you like to try planting them yourself?"

At the unexpected question, Karamatsu snapped his head up and stared at her surprised, "But mommy, I don't know anything about plants."

"That's alright," Matsuyo waved off, "I heard that this specific plant isn't as hard to take care of compared to other species. It's called a hydrangeas and they come in multiple colors. Just as long as you care for it, it'll grow bright and beautiful. Remember how dedicated you were when you grew lima beans in elementary? Do it like that and all will be fine."

Studying the seeds, Karamatsu grew unsure. "I don't really know…" he said. It wasn't that he didn't want to grow them, he felt his heart do backflips in joy to be able to do it, it's just that he was scared at the idea of possibly failing. If the plant died on him, he'd basically consider himself a murderer. Letting it become life only to let it wilt and die was like treason in his mind. But with his mother's reassurance, the curiosity got the better of him. "Alright," he agreed, nodding his head, "I will take excellent care of them, you can count on me."

His mother's lips stretched into a wide smile. "Wonderful," she said, "I have the pot in my bedroom and the bag of spoil is out on the balcony so let me go get them and you can get started whenever you'd like."

* * *

Before setting it up, Karamatsu made sure to do extensive research. He wanted to know exactly how much soil and water were needed without overdoing it and how much space each seed needed. In the end, with the size of the pot his mother gave him, Karamatsu poured in the soil one inch lower than the height of the pot and spaced out only three seeds. The extras were stored back inside the cabinet in the kitchen in case his mother ever felt like giving it a try.

Looking around, he needed a place to set the pot. The bedroom was the worst option as that was where most of the ruckus was in. He had thought about placing it outside on the balcony, but he realized that this specific flower were indoor plants and didn't need to stay outside. For that, it was a relief. He didn't trust leaving it outside.

He turned his head and spotted the window in the living room. Sunlight usually shined through there and overall it felt like a safe place. Fights between his brothers rarely happened in the living room so he trusted that spot to be the perfect place. Feeling content, Karamatsu walked across the room and placed the pot on top of the window ledge.

He plopped himself in front of it right after. Crossing his legs and resting an elbow on his knee and his chin on his palm, he watched the pot. He wasn't impatient by all means, the most impatient was Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu, but he wasn't overly patient either. He was aware that it would take days for the green stems and leaves to pop out, and weeks just to see it start forming buds.

"Patience is a virtue," he whispered to himself. He kept that quote in mind. It was always exciting to try new things but this specifically needed time and lots of it. He could handle it of course. If he could wait a year just for Osomatsu to buy him a new pair of shades after accidentally breaking his old ones, then he could wait months for his plant to grow.

Even with that understanding, he couldn't help but get excited. He was raising _life_. He was basically this plant's parent now. There was a new found sense of responsibly that laid upon his shoulders. It would be a challenge of course, but he was looking forward to the outcome.

* * *

Later on that day all the brothers were in the living room. Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu played jenga while the others were to themselves. It was silent, aside from the younger two who were playing a game, but all was normal.

"What is that?" Choromatsu suddenly spoke, eyes torn away from his newspaper and had settled on the pot across the room, "Who put that pot there?"

Karamatsu broke away his attention from his fashion magazine and smirked. Someone finally asked after everyone had been here for over an hour. Cracking his knuckles, he sprung up and stood in the center of the room. The second everyone had their eyes on him they turned back to what they were doing but that didn't bother him at all.

"My brothers," he sang, "It's so wonderful to finally be curious as to what this lovely pot is doing by the window. You might think it's just a pile of dirt in there, which is true for the moment, but there is actually life growing in there. And one day, it'll shine brighter than the sun."

Nobody commented nor even glanced in his direction. Karamatsu knew he had been ignored, but he wasn't bothered by it, because one day, when his plant grows beautiful and strong, they'll all be amazed. Karamatsu grew excited at the thought. Just they wait.

* * *

A week later Karamatsu walked down the hallway to get something to eat in the kitchen. He had passed the living room and was a few steps away but he immediately halted. Turning on his heels, he ran back down the hall until he was in front of the living room. With his heart jumping, Karamatsu walked over to the window and knelt down in front of the pot. "It…It…" Karamatsu gasped. He couldn't believe it.

There it was. Just above the soil were three short stems with tiny leaves sticking out at the top. They were on the lighter shade of green as they had just sprouted but Karamatsu had never felt so over joyed.

With shaky yet gentle fingers, he reached out and brushed them against the small leaves. They were so young and fragile Karamatsu feared he hurt it by barely touching it. This was what it was like watching life grow. Was that how it was like for his parents when they watched him and his brothers grow up? Maybe the comparison wasn't exactly equal, but he thought he had a fairly good understanding on what that feeling was.

About feeling proud.

He pulled his hand back, as much as he wanted to caress his precious plant he had to refrain from touching it. All he could do was give it its proper nutrients and watch it become beautiful. He grinned. He couldn't wait to see what was in store.

"Huh, so it was a plant all along."

Startled by the voice, Karamatsu turned around and looked up to see Osomatsu behind him. "Bro-brother?" He didn't question his older brother why he couldn't tell that it was a plant just by looking at the pot and soil because he was too excited to see that someone else was finally showing interest.

"Look! Osomatsu look!" he said as he grabbed the pot and pushed it right in front of Osomatsu's face.

Frowning, Osomatsu raised a brow, "Yes, I can see that Karamatsu-" he pushed the pot away from him- "You don't need to shove it in front of my face."

Karamatsu set it back down on the ledge and gazed at it, "But look how far it's come," he sighed, more to himself, "And it'll only get better."

"Okay yeah I'm just gonna leave you to this while I go out," Osomatsu stated. "I was gonna ask you if you wanted to come with me but seeing you making googly eyes with a _plant_ of all things I'm gonna take that as a no."

Karamatsu hummed in response and Osomatsu took that cue to leave without saying anything more.

* * *

When Karamatsu got back home after failing again searching for his Karamatsu girls he took off his shoes with haste and rushed down the hall towards the living room. It had been three months since the first sprouting and three weeks ago the buds had finally formed.

To say that he was excited was an understatement. Ever since he discovered the color of the flowers he took extra care into raising it. The color was _blue_ of all colors. It was his favorite color! And just recently the buds had started opening and that meant that soon the flowers would fully bloom and become beautiful. It was why Karamatsu always rushed to see it whenever he got home, it was because that day could be today.

Entering the living room, he hoped to see flower petals spread apart. But it was okay if it wasn't fully bloomed, just seeing his plant happy and healthy on the ledge by the window was perfectly enough for him.

Except he saw neither of those things.

On the floor laid his plant, the pot shattered and the dirt spread on the mat.

He ran towards it and knelt down. Karamatsu stared at it in horror. Just what on earth happened? Quickly but carefully he scooped up the soil and scattered flowers and got up to search for something to put it in. That was the only pot he had so he had to improvise. Running into the kitchen, Karamatsu took out a bowl and placed it in there. It was probably unsanitary but he was desperate to save his plant. If his parents got angry then he could ask for forgiveness later, right now he prayed that what he salvaged could still survive.

Karamatsu walked back to the living room and put it on the window ledge and sat down. Just who could've done this? It couldn't have been his mother because she was the one who encouraged him to do it and he doubted it had been his father. Maybe one of his brothers? No… he hated to think that it was one of his brothers to do this. For all the bad things that had happened to him in the past, he never once blamed his brothers for anything. He had always settled on things as an accident and all was well, even if he had been emotional affected for some time.

Maybe this one was an accident too? Yeah…that must've been it, he thought. Or at least he tried to believe but that didn't stop his shoulders from trembling. He bit his lip. All he could do was wait it out to see what would happen to his precious plant.

It hadn't even been a week. All it took was two days for Karamatsu to see his plant sagged and wilted. The blue buds and green stems and leaves turned into a depressing brown and black color. The stems laid on the soil soggy and flimsy while the leaves and buds shriveled up.

Karamatsu felt heartbroken. He wanted to cry at the sight. His plant died and it was all his fault. He _killed_ the plant he loved so dearly. Sniffing, he grabbed the bowl and cradled it to his chest. He knew this whole thing was a mistake. He knew he should've never agreed to raising them. Oh how he wished he had rejected his mother back then. It was too late now, and he lived to see the price.

"Hey Kara- _whoa._ Are you- Are you crying Karamatsu?"

Oh great, he thought. The last thing he wanted was for someone to see him crying over a plant. Rapidly rubbing his eyes with his sleeves, he turned around. "Ah, good morning Osomatsu," he greeted, but it sounded so hollow.

Osomatsu walked up to him and gaped at the dead plant against Karamatsu's chest. He stayed silent for moment and Karamatsu was about to ask what was wrong but the older finally spoke, "Jesus, what happened to this thing?"

"I…I," Karamatsu was at a loss for words. Explaining the death of his plant crushed his heart. He swallowed, "A few days ago I found it on the floor smashed. I tried saving it but we can see how that turned out."

"It's just a plant, you can always grow another one," Osomatsu explained.

Shaking his head, Karamatsu extended the bowl to show his brother, "I brought death to this plant. Trying to do it again will only bring the same miserable result."

Osomatsu's lips pursed into a thin line as he took in the other's words. He paused again, before asking, "So… what are you going to do?"

"I'll have to part ways with it," he answered. Karamatsu internally grimaced, that was probably the most painful thing to say but he had to go through with it. "Leaving it like this probably isn't what it wants-" he gestured to the fallen plant- "I'll have to let it rest peacefully."

He didn't even let his brother have time to answer. If Karamatsu stayed there any longer he would've broke down crying again, so instead he immediately walked out of the living room, leaving Osomatsu to stare at his retreating form.

* * *

Feeling the wind brush against his skin, Karamatsu strummed a few chords on his guitar. It was the early morning and he felt like getting a breath of fresh air. He was sitting on top the roof of the house playing songs on his guitar. Everybody else was inside doing whatever they normally did.

It had been a few months since the passing of his plant. For the most part he had moved on just fine, but there were times when that memory came back to bite him, like right now. What's done was done and there was nothing he could've done about it. But sometimes he still wished he had done something. He wasn't exactly sure what else he could've done but that didn't stop him wishing.

It didn't matter anymore, or it shouldn't matter. It was all in the past and Karamatsu had no reason to dwell on it any further. He made that decision months ago after that incident to never plant again, because doing so will only bring misfortune. He had only hope that his plant had passed on peacefully.

Too busy amidst in his thoughts, he didn't notice the door to the balcony sliding open. It was only until a person called out to him. "Karamatsu, you need to wash the dishes," it was Osomatsu.

Karamatsu kept his gaze looking out into the distance of the city as he played with his guitar, "Wasn't it Todomatsu's turn to wash them today?"

"Uhhh yeah but he's out of town with dad," Osomatsu reminded, "And nobody else wants to do it so."

Karamatsu sighed but otherwise didn't protest. "Okay," he said, "I'll be right there."

When he entered the kitchen he went straight to the sink, but only upon looking inside he discovered that there wasn't anything to be washed. "Osomatsu what-" he turned around and was about to find his brother but he stopped at the sight of something across the kitchen on the counter.

On it was a flower plant. A plant just like his but this one had flowers in _full bloom._

Karamatsu ran up towards it and stared at it astounded. Gently, he reached out and touched the petals lovingly. It was definitely the same kind of flower, except that this one had more flowers and was much larger.

 _Who did this_? he thought. Could it have been his mother? But she had told him that she had lost interest. There wasn't anyone else who would have bother doing this. But whoever did this… took great care of it.

"The look on your face is priceless," Osomatsu said behind him.

Karamatsu whipped around and looked at him bewilderedly while pointing at the plant agape.

"Okay I'll admit," Osomatsu started, "It was I who knocked down your plant but it was an accident I swear. It was just that the ending to this comic book I was reading pissed me off so I threw it without thinking and it hit your plant." He looked away to the side, "At first, I didn't care what I had done and I kinda just left the mess there but after seeing your face I felt guilty- slightly guilty mind you- so I asked mom if she had anymore seeds which thankfully she did." Raising his hands up in defense he apologized, "Sorry for killing your plant. That's why there's a new one right behind you."

Speechless, Karamatsu turned back and stared at the plant. He was most definitely surprised, but he wouldn't say that he was angry. Even if his brothers were the fault of something Karamatsu could never be angry at them. Still, his one question in mind hadn't been answered.

"Who planted this?" he asked.

Osomatsu grinned, like he was waiting for that question to be asked, and rubbed his nose. "Well I did of course. I did it for you," he said.

Eyes widening, Karamatsu stared at him, "F-For me?"

The older nodded and walked up to the flower. His expression suddenly turned into a grimace, "God, how do you enjoy doing these things? They are hard as hell to do, especially when you have to hide it from everyone because I sure as hell didn't want anyone seeing me planting it. I can't believe you like doing this, it's so much wor-"

Osomatsu was cut off from being pulled and wrapped around in strong squeezing arms. "Kara- Jesus Christ, I can't breathe!" he wheezed because damn Karamatsu was strong as hell.

"S-Sorry," Karamatsu apologized, he loosened his grip but didn't let go, "It's just that- this is the best gift I have ever received, as in apology or not I love it. _Thank you_ , brother, thank you thank you thank you-"

"Yeah yeah," Osomatsu tried dismissing, but that didn't stop him from smiling. Bringing up his hand, he patted the younger on the back, "As long as you do the dishes for me tomorrow."

Karamatsu pulled back and beamed, "Of course, brother."

* * *

"Here's the beer you wanted," Karamatsu said as he walked up behind Osomatsu who sat on the floor.

The older turned around, "What? Beer? Oh my god yes, give it here. Ah sweet sweet beer come to daddy. Thanks though."

Karamatsu hummed in response and sat down next to him. They were sitting in the living room in front of the window. Everyone else was gone so it was just them. "You know brother," he started, "Staring at it won't make it grow faster."

Osomatsu eyed him, "Yes I know that Karamatsu, but I don't understand why it takes so damn long for a plant - _a plant-_ to grow. This is ridiculous."

"Non non non," Karamatsu shook his head, "Something like this takes time. Life takes time to grow. You need to learn to be patient, patience is a virtue after all."

Osomatsu blew out a frustrated huff, "If the situation had been switched, as in my plant was fully bloomed and yours had just sprouted buds, then you'd be impatient too. I just want mine's to catch up that's all."

"It'll get there one day," Karamatsu reassured, "After all you did a splendid job raising mine."

"Don't talk to me like I'm some parent who had watched their child become a grown person. It's not the same and it's weird," Osomatsu muttered as he nudged his brother's shoulder with his own.

Smiling, Karamatsu asked, "But you're still proud aren't you?"

Osomatsu didn't respond as he looked back at the flowers. In front of the window were two plants, one of which was a fully bloomed blue hydrangea and next to it was another one, its red buds gleaming in the sunlight

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

 _Other than knowing that a plant needs soil, sunlight, and water I don't have an extensive knowledge on plants so if the time frame here for growing a plant or caring for that specific flower is inaccurate then I'm sorry._

 _Please leave a review! I really appreciate them! It inspires me to write more. :)_


End file.
